TrafficGuard appoints Scott Thomson as Head of AI to address agentic bot fraud in digital advertising

The ad verification platform recruits the former Google and Adobe engineer to counter the emergence of autonomous programs that mimic human browsing behavior to generate invalid traffic.

TrafficGuard, a platform specializing in digital ad verification and invalid traffic (IVT) prevention, has appointed Scott Thomson as its new Head of AI. Thomson, who previously held technology roles at Google, Adobe, and Telstra, and served as a non-executive director at TrafficGuard since early 2024, will manage the integration of artificial intelligence models into the company's detection systems.

The appointment targets a specific technological shift in ad fraud: the emergence of agentic AI. Unlike traditional bot networks, agentic bots are autonomous programs capable of browsing pages, clicking links, and filling out forms with human-like intent patterns. Because these bots mimic genuine user behavior, they bypass conventional verification methods, driving the need for AI-native detection systems capable of adapting to complex threat models.

“We are delighted to welcome Scott in an executive capacity at a pivotal time for TrafficGuard,” said Mat Ratty, CEO of the company. “His deep expertise in AI spanning Google Cloud, generative AI strategy, and enterprise innovation is directly aligned with where we are taking this business. Scott’s appointment accelerates our ability to execute our AI roadmap and deliver advanced fraud prevention to advertisers globally.”

In his new role, Thomson will focus on accelerating product development to monitor, analyze, and block invalid traffic across emerging digital channels. He will lead the expansion of TrafficGuard’s machine learning infrastructure to identify anomalies in ad exposure and prevent budget waste.

“The AI arms race in ad fraud is real. Fraudsters are already deploying agentic bots and generative AI to evade detection at scale, and staying ahead requires deep AI expertise and a platform built for continuous evolution,” Thomson stated. He added that the company's strategy involves moving beyond basic fraud detection: “Expanding our AI-powered capabilities beyond fraud detection into intelligent optimization tools that help advertisers not just protect their spend, but maximize its performance. We’re evolving the platform to cover new channels and deliver actionable insights that turn fraud data into a genuine competitive advantage.”

Industry forecasts indicate that AI-generated invalid traffic will consume an increasing portion of digital advertising budgets in the near future. In response to this trend, TrafficGuard intends to expand its technical team to support the development of tools that filter out automated traffic, ensuring that digital ad deployments reach verified human users.